After the rare Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7, another interesting lens is soon to be up for an auction: Canon 1200mm f/5.6. Other than being rare, this telephoto monster is also the world’s longest SLR autofocus lens, and it’s an iconic one.
According to B&H, it’s “one of the most legendary telephoto lenses ever made.” The Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6 L USM lens reportedly first appeared in 1984 at the Summer Olympics in LA. There were only five of them used by the media to cover the Games, and they had the Canon FD mount. After the Games ended, the lenses were shipped back to Japan and later converted to the EF mount. I think that this lens still remains the longest lens in the world with AF capability, but correct me if I’m wrong.
The Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6 L USM remained very rare ever since it had first been produced. It was available on special order only, and each lens was produced only after it was actually sold. There were approximately two lenses made annually because the production was painstakingly long. It took over a year to build each lens since it took a lot of time to grow the massive fluorite crystals used for its elements. Therefore, there are only around a dozen of these lenses that have ever been produced.
The lens is scheduled to be listed on Wetzlar Camera Auctions on 9 October 2021. For now, there are no predictions on the price it could reach. But concluding from the previous times it was listed for sale, I think it’s safe to assume that it will be far from cheap. What do you think, what’s the price it will reach?
[via DPReview]
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